Corn-fodder binder



(No Model.)

P. E.\MAY. CORN PODDBR BINDER.

Patented Aug. 25, 1896.

in lHIIHN UNITED jSTATES PATENT rrrcn.

PETER E. MAY, OF MINERAL POINT, VISCONSIN.

CORN-FODDER BINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 566,333, dated August 25, 1896.

Appiaiion ned Api-i127, 1896.

To all whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, PETER E. MAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mineral Point, in the county of Iowa and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful (lorn-Fodder Binder, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in devices for binding fodder by hand, and has for its object to provide a device of this character which will be easy of operation, capable of being readily transported from one place to another by means of the user, and which will compress the bundle and securely hold the same during the application and securing of the permanent binder, and which will be eective for the purpose designed and capable of sustaining the strain and usage to which devices of this character are subjected without giving way.

For a full understanding of the merits and advantages of the invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings and the following description.

The improvement is susceptible of various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and to a full disclosure of the invention an adaptation thereof is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective View of a fodderbinder constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the operating -lever thrown up out of the way by full lines and in working position by dotted lines.

The device is essentially a hand binder, and comprises a base or platform upon which are placed the clamping devices or levers. This base or platform is composed of longitudinal beams l, forming runners, and transverse beams 2, connected at their ends in any substantial manner with the longitudinal beams or runners l. A bar 3 is placed upon the transverse beams 2 and is located about midway between the longitudinal beams or runners l. Parallel uprights 4 are secured at their lower ends to a transverse beam 2, and a corresponding upright 5 is attached at ASerial No. 589,307. (No model.)

its lower end to the opposite transverse beam 2, and these uprights 4 and 5 ilare toward their upper ends, so as to receive the fodder or other product to be bound. A brace 6 connects the upper portion of the upright 5 with the projecting end of the bar 3, and stays 7 connect the upper portion of the uprights 4 with the transverse beam 2 to which the said uprights are fastened. These parts 6 and 7 are designed to strengthen and give stability to the device and enable the uprights to be made sufficiently light to avoid a cumbersome and bulky appearance consistent with the strength required to withstand the strain when the device is in service.

A lever S, depressed between its ends to form a yoke, is pivoted at one end to the upright 5, and its opposite end extends between the uprights 4 andisconnected to the short arm of the operating-lever 9, which latter is fulcrumed near its rear end to the uprights 4 and is disposed to operate in the space formed between the said uprights. An offset lO is formed in the lever S, adjacent to its pivotal connection with the upright 5, to admit of its terminal portion occupying a central position with respect to the said upright 5, the latter having a groove l1 to receive the terminal portion of the lever S, so that the said end portion may come iiush with the inner side of the upright, so that no obstruction is offered on the inner side of the upright 5 to impede the free passage of the fodder or like product when passing thereover into the depression of the lower lever. The operating-lever 9 is considerably longer than the lever 8, and has an upward depression l2 opposite the depression in thelever 8, so that unitedly the two depressions form an approximately circular space Within which the fodder is gripped during the binding operation. A lip 13 is formed on the inner side of the lever 9, and is adapted to engage with a tooth of a notched plate 14, secured to the upright 5 between the latter and the brace 6, so as to hold the lever 9 in a depressed position. Vhen fodder is supplied to the device during the formation of a bundle, the lever 9 is thrown upward and is supported by means of a bar l5, which connects the upper ends of the `uprights 4, and which is outwardly curved opposite the space between the uprights, so as IOC) to give ample clearance for the curved p0rtion of the lever 9, formed by providing the depression therein.

A twine-box 16 is secured to the device by means of a bracket 17, which latter is fastened to a portion of the platform and an upright 4, said bracket having an opening above the twine-box for the cord or twine 1S to pass therethrough. A knife 19 is secured to an upright 4 and affords a convenient means for cutting the cord or twine into the desired length for binding a bundle.

When the operating-lever is thrown up out of the way, the fodder or other product to be bound into a bundle is placed between the uprights 4 and 5 until a sufficient quantity has accumulated to form a bundle of required size,after which the lever 9 is lowered, thereby compressing the fodder between the oppositely-depressed portions of the levers 8 and 9, the lever 9 being engaged with the notched plate 14 to hold it after the bundle has been subjected to the requisite tension. The cord or twine 18 is now drawn together about the bundle, and its ends are knotted or secured in any desired way, after which the lever 9 is released and the bound bundle removed. The binder is moved to the next shock by engaging the lever 9 with the notched plate 14 and pulling upon the said lever, thereby skidding the devicel upon the beams or runners 1.

It will be observed that as the outer end of the lever 9 is depressed its rear end is correspondingly elevated, thereby lifting the free end of the lever 8 and causing the levers 8 and 9 to move toward each other from opposite directions, whereby the best results are attained.

Ilaving thusdescribed the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a fodder-binder, the combination of a lever pivoted at one end and depressed inter mediate of its ends, and a second lever having a depressed portion opposite the depression in the rst-mentioned lever and pivotally supported a short distance from one end, and having the terminal portion in the rear of the pivot connected with the free end of the first-mentioned lever, whereby the levers will simultaneously advance or recede upon actuating the operating-lever, substantially as set forth.

2. In a fodder-binder, the combination of an upright having a groove in its inner face, a lever fulcrumed to the upright and having the portion adjacent to the fulcrum litted in the said groove, and an operating-lever fulcrumed near its rear end and having connection with the free terminal of the first-mentioned lever to cause the levers to operate in unison, both levers having oppositely-dis posed depressions, substantially as shown for the purpose described.

3. In afodder-binder, the combination with a platform, parallel uprights secured at their lower ends to the platform, and a corresponding upright located at a distance from the parallel uprights and inclining in an opposite direction thereto, of a lever having pivotal connection at one end with the last-mentioned upright and having its opposite end project ing into the space formed between the parallel uprights, and van operatingdever fulcrumed near its rear end to the parallel uprights and having its short arm connected with the free end of the iirst-mentioned lever, substantially as shown for the purpose described.

4. Theherein-describedfodderbinder,com prising a platform having runners, uprights secured at their lower ends to the platform and flaring at their upper ends, a bar connecting the upper ends of the parallel uprights, a lower lever fulcrumed to the single upright and having an offset, an operatinglever fulcrumed to the parallel uprights and having its short arm connected with the free end of the lower lever, a notched plate to secure the operating-lever in a depressed position, a twine-box, and a knife, the parts being arranged and operating substantially in the manner illustrated and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

PETER E. HAY. `Witnesses1 ERNEs'r C. FIEDLER, JOHN FIEDLER. 

